This relates generally to semiconductor memories and, particularly, to the use of bipolar junction transistors for selecting cells in memory arrays of semiconductor memories.
A bipolar junction transistor is an effective selection device for a storage element in an array of memory elements. A bipolar junction transistor may be an effective selection device because it may have better current driving capabilities than an MOS selection device of comparable size. If the memory element requires a significant programming current, as is the case in some memories, such as phase change memories and binary oxide unipolar resistive memories, the adoption of a bipolar junction transistor selector may allow a substantial reduction of cell size.